May 20 (Day 81) Love in simple ways...

Today's post highlights a group of people who saw a need in their community and decided to do something

to meet that need. That is what this blog is all about; Find a need... then fill that need!  It inspires me to see that there are people out there who are making a difference in so many ways.  They are meeting simple needs and having a huge impact in their community.... How about you, what can you do to impact your community?     “We can do no great things, only small things with great love” Mother Theresa

Project 680 is a grassroots team effort led by local residents to do something about the problem of student homelessness. This all started with a sock drive in December 2008. After learning of the “680″ (680 documented cases of “homeless” students in 2008) from the District Liaison for Homeless Services, and that having new socks were a felt need among these students, it became our goal to collect 680 pairs of socks. Well, we were overwhelmed with generosity from the community and we saw 3,144 pairs of socks come in (on a similar note, a future underwear drive then saw 3,198 pairs of underwear). Local residents, neighborhoods, organizations, churches, and businesses all teamed up to make this happen.

WHAT IS A HOMELESS STUDENT? “Homeless” is defined as “an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate residence.” The students that the school district serves in Folsom and Rancho Cordova are living in unstable places like motels, in homes without a parent or legal guardian, in homes without power or water, in RVs in parking lots, in cars, in tents, on the streets, and more. Being a kid or teenager these days is difficult enough without adding the struggle of instability in living arrangements.

Advocating for local homeless students does not require a degree in rocket science, but only a willing heart to love in simple ways.

Ways you can get involved:

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  If you live in the Folsom Cordova Unified School District area you can get involved in one of their projects.
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  If you live outside the area, you can participate in the "One Cap-One Shoe" campaign and help supply homeless students with shoes. 
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  Take a few minutes and really think about this cause and how they are making a difference and be inspired to make a difference in your community. 

Check out the Project 680 Facebook page.

Source:  Project 680

March 5 (Day 5) - Easter Baskets for Homeless Kids

Families now make up 40 percent of the country’s homeless population. Within these families, more than 1.3 million children are homeless at some time each year. On any given day, at least 800,000 Americans, including about 200,000 children, find themselves without a home.

Homelessness is a growing problem in America and a large segment of the homeless population is families with children.  There are many things that you can do to brighten the lives of homeless children - our idea for today is to provide Easter Baskets to children at your local homeless shelter.  This is a great way to involve your children in giving to others.  Easter is a month away so start by contacting your local homeless shelter (you can use the widget below to locate a shelter in your area)  and ask them if you can provide Easter baskets for the children at the shelter. The shelter will tell you how many children they currently are housing, make sure to make a few extra just in case.  This is something my sister and I did with our kids several years ago.  We were able to obtain low cost easter baskets (Dollar stores are great places to find these items) and filled them with candy and small toys.  I believe we created 19 baskets and it made us feel so good when we dropped the baskets off at the shelter.  Small gestures like this can go a long way toward helping children maintain a sense of normalcy and routine in a very difficult situation.